


To Be Loved

by hybryd0



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-28
Updated: 2015-05-28
Packaged: 2018-04-01 15:07:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,677
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4024462
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hybryd0/pseuds/hybryd0
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Louis dared him to write his phone number on the door of a bathroom stall, Liam never expected anything beyond naughty pictures and a bunch of junk.  He certainly didn't expect to be helping someone with a sexuality crisis.</p>
            </blockquote>





	To Be Loved

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sunshinexbomb](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunshinexbomb/gifts).



> This is a gift for the wonderful Jarka. I hope you like it bb! Thank you to Aimee for being a wonderful beta. I'm not sure I accomplished what you suggested, but I tried lol.
> 
> Based off of these two prompts:  
> “I fell asleep on your couch after a party but you didn’t complain and made breakfast for the both of us” AU
> 
> “I left my phone number on the bathroom stall wall and you text me about your day and your frustrations for a month & it’s really nice and cute but I still don’t know who you are” AU

_hullo dude who writes his name on bathroom stalls_

__

Liam groans as he looks at the text.  Bloody Louis and his bloody dares.  He’s gotten half a dozen texts ranging from weird to extremely naughty and it’s making it really hard for him to focus on the essay he’s supposed to be writing.

__

_it was for a bet, right?_

Another one for the junk list, Liam thinks as he gets ready to block the newest texter.

_i have smthng i need to tell sme1. sme1 i don’t know just to get it off me chest. u don’t gotta ansr._

At that, something in Liam tells him not to block, not yet.  Logically he knows that if he just added the number to the junk list the person texting him would never know the messages aren’t being received by anyone.  But he would know that what could in fact be a heartfelt confession, maybe even something this person could really use advice on, would be for nothing.

_i’m gay. that’s not relly the what i gotta say. i’ve settled with that. i fancy a guy. he’s super fit and all, and i think he is either gay or bi.  the bit i have to say is that i don’t wanna do anythng w/ him._

__

Liam frowns at his phone, essay completely forgotten at this point.

_i wanna cuddle up and watch footie togethe.  maybe a little snogging.  i wanna fix him dinner and do coupley things.  i just don’t want anythng to do with his dick.  i’ve no chance._

Liam doesn’t even stop to think before he replies. _**don’t say that.  always a chance m8**_

There’s a long pause that follows before he phone buzzes again.

_didn’t expect you to say anything_

_**Just don’t like seeing any1 talk bad abt themslvs** _

_weird tho ain’t it? what lad doesn’t want sex?_

Liam doesn’t have an immediate reply.  He enjoys sex quite a bit and every lad he knows does too.  He’s not sure what he should say to this boy who is laying it all out on the line to him.  He doesn’t want this boy to think anything is wrong with him or to think that Liam thinks something is wrong with him even though they’re complete strangers and Liam’s opinion shouldn’t really matter.  His phone buzzes before he can formulate a response.

_sokay i know im weird_

**_didn’t say that did i?_**  Liam quickly replies.   ** _have you ever tried anything?_**

_tried giving a bj once. wasn’t pretty._

Liam winces.

_listen m8 thnx for talkin w me.  gotta go class time._

**_you can text me anytime you need._ **

_thnx might do that._

__

After that Liam has daily conversations with the mysterious texter who asks to be called N.  N texts him everyday to either grump about whatever frustrations the day holds (most often it’s one of his professors who is apparently one of the biggest wankers ever) or to lament his crush on the boy he still thinks he has no chance with.  Liam comes to enjoy the chats mainly because N lets him rant and they’ve even discussed the last date Liam went on, which was a disaster from start to finish.

“Are you ever going to actually meet this bloke?”

Liam stops reading N’s latest text and looks up at Louis.  “We haven’t talked about it.  Why?”

“Figured maybe you could make moon eyes at the person instead of just at your screen,” Louis replies

“For the last time,” Liam starts, feeling weary to his bones, “there’s been no ‘moon eyes’, Lou.  Besides, even if there were, he’s interested in someone already.”

“Sure, sure,” Louis says, rolling his eyes.  “Anyway, as I was saying while you were not making moon eyes at your phone, I know a lad throwing a party tonight. He wants me to invite more people, so, I’m inviting you.”

“I have an essay…” Liam trails off at the look Louis gives him.  He knows that look from growing up together; it’s a look that means Louis really isn’t going to take no for an answer and he plans to ensure Liam gives in.  “...that can wait until this weekend.”

“There’s my boy,” Louis crows with delight, pumping his fist because sometimes he’s a bit ridiculous.

Liam shakes his head and turns his attention back to his phone.  He’s trying to convince N to at least attempt to speak to the boy he has a crush on, to at least test the waters.  N still hasn’t, and apparently won’t, tell him a name and Liam has found himself more and more curious who could possibly have caught N’s attention.

He’s grown really fond of N, found him to be witty and knowledgeable about things that Liam doesn’t really think too much about, but he also seems incredibly nice and thoughtful.  If Liam’s being honest with himself, he’d really like to meet N for real and get to know him, but N hasn’t ever brought it up as a possibility and Liam doesn’t want to potentially ruin the nice little vibe they’ve got going on.

_wht r u doin 2night?_

**_got a party m8 is dragging me to_ **

_have fun w that_

**_not looking frwd to tmrrws hngvr_ **

_got a frnd swears by banana milkshake for hngvr cure_

**_mabye ill look intotht_ **

They chit chat back and forth for a while longer before Liam has to take a shower to get ready for the party.  He picks a comfortable pair of jeans and one of his favorite Batman t-shirt and almost picks out a snapback to wear, but at the last minute decides to go ahead and style his hair just a little bit.  He’s not going to the party with the intention of picking up anyone, so there’s no need to dress to impress as far as he’s concerned.  If he were going clubbing with Louis that’d be a completely different matter altogether.

Once he’s done he sits on the couch and waits for Louis to finish getting ready.  Louis is apparently on the pull tonight as when he appears from his room, he’s dressed up a little bit and has taken the time to style his hair.  He looks great and Liam is pretty sure he’s going to want to find someplace else to sleep for the night, because there’s no way Louis won’t find someone.

“Right then, Payno, let’s do this shall we?” Louis says, leading the way towards the door.

The walk to their destination turns out to be pretty short; there’s a lot of uni students renting out houses in their neighborhood.  There’s a couple of people sprawled out on the front lawn and some more milling about on the front porch.  The front door is open and the sound of 90’s pop music is spilling out from inside bringing a smile to Liam’s face.  Maybe this party will be just what he needs to take his mind off of N, who he has been thinking about way too much.

“Oi oi!” Louis belts as soon as they enter.  The people in the entranceway give him a weird look.

“Tommo!” A voice calls back and then a boy bounces out of the crowd to yank Louis right into a hug.  Liam has seen the boy around before, knows his hair used to have more blond in it, but the highlights have started to fade to show the dark roots.  “Thanks for coming, mate.”

“Told you I would,” Louis says back.  He keeps one arm around the boy’s shoulders and motions towards Liam,  “have you met Liam before?”

“Can’t say I’ve had the pleasure,” the boy says before fixing Liam with some of the prettiest blue eyes he’s ever seen.  “I’m Niall, pleasure to meet ya.”

Before Liam can say anything else a boy with long hair and pretty eyes appears, he recognizes him a Harry Styles; he had a group project with him last year.  Harry crowds into Niall’s free side, a wide grin on his face.  “Your turn, Nialler!  Gotta please your crowd.”

“Drinks are in the kitchen, lads,” Niall says as Harry pulls him away and through a doorway to the left.  

Louis pushes Liam gently in the direction Niall and Harry disappeared in.  “I’ll get us drinks, get in there, you’re not going to want to miss this.”  And then he heads off down the hall.

Liam’s curiosity is piqued so he doesn’t even think about sticking with Louis like he normally would despite his friend’s insistence.  He goes into the other room just as an acoustic guitar starts playing and he smiles with surprised delight when he sees Niall standing on some kind of makeshift stage playing the guitar.  There’s mic stand in front of him too which makes Liam wonder if Niall is in some kind of band.

“Wonderwall!” Someone in the crowd shouts.

“Fuck off ye drunk bastard,” Niall says goodnaturedly as he continues strumming.  There’s a rumble of laughter from the crowd, but they’re surprisingly quiet when Niall starts singing.

He has a nice voice and the song he’s singing (something from The Script Liam’s sure), suits his voice.  Liam can’t help but sing along under his breath and he doesn’t even notice Louis’s return until his friend presses a cold beer bottle to his arm.  He jerks and yanks his arm back, sending Louis a small glare before he takes the offered bottle.

“He’s good, right?” Louis says, eyes on Niall.  “Told me once he tried out for X-Factor when he was younger.”

Liam looks at Louis in surprise.  “How far did he get?”

“Bootcamp apparently,” Louis says, then shushes him and they both watch the end of Niall’s performance.

The crowd cheers wildly and a few call for an encore, but Niall seems to decline, setting his guitar aside.  As he steps off the stage someone else takes his place.  Niall makes a beeline towards them, receiving pats on the back as he goes.  He slows down when he gets close and if Liam didn’t know any better he’d think Niall looks shy, a light flush to his cheeks that wasn’t there before.

“Slayed ‘em, Nialler!” Louis crows, reaching out to ruffle Niall’s hair.  Niall bats him off then looks at Liam, that shy smile back on his face.

“You sounded really good,” Liam says earnestly.  The flush on Niall’s face deepens with a pleased smile.  It looks really good on him, Liam notes.

The rest of the night is spent playing some horrendous game called drinko that basically consists of them all taking shots of some of the worst tasting liquors.  At some point everything goes fuzzy and the last thing Liam remembers clearly is someone suggesting strip poker and thinking it sounds like a fantastic idea.

***

His mouth tastes like absolute arse.  That’s the first thing Liam realizes as he slowly wakes up.  The other is that his head is going to explode.  He moans weakly and curls up further, dragging the blanket over his head.

He’s almost back to sleep again when he hears a clatter not too far from him and he jerks the blanket away, blearily opening his eyes.  It takes his brain a second to take in what he’s seeing before he realizes he’s not in his bed or even in his own house.  He’s also down to his boxers and nothing else, which is definitely alarming to say the least.

With his head still pounding, Liam slowly sits up and sees a pair of gray joggers and a t-shirt laid out on the coffee table along with a glass of water and some pills that he trusts to be painkillers.  He doesn’t question the clothes, just pulls them on and then swallows down the pills as he hears another clatter.  It sounds like dishes, he realizes as he shuffles his way in the direction of the sound.

The noises lead him to the kitchen where he finds Niall portioning out some eggs between two plates that already have sausage and toast on them.  He looks over his shoulder, probably alerted by the sound of Liam’s shuffling feet, and his face breaks into a bright smile.  Liam smiles back, if somewhat a little weaker, and makes his way over to the little table that’s in the attached dining room.

“Mornin’, how’re ya feelin’?  Hopefully not too rough,” Niall says, thankfully much more toned down than he was last night.

“M’okay,” Liam mumbles.  “Sorry I crashed here.”

Niall snorts, “Don’t be silly, mate.  The way you and Tommo were you wouldn’t have made it halfway down the street even leaning on each other.”

“Oh, is he here too?” Liam questions as Niall brings over the two plates and sets one of them in front of him.  “You didn’t have to fix breakfast for me.”

“Yeah, he’s crashed out upstairs in Harry’s room I imagine,” Niall says.  “You passed out after bein’ sick so we just left you on the couch.  Didn’t have the heart to wake you to be honest.”

“What happened to my clothes?” Liam asks before he takes a bite of eggs.

Niall’s cheeks flush slightly.  “You’d been sick on them so we got you out of them to throw ‘em in the wash.  You and Harry are about the same size so we figured his clothes would fit you alright.”

They eat in comfortable silence for a few minutes before Niall clears his throat.  For a second he looks somewhat hesitant about what he’s about to say, but it’s quickly replaced by what looks like determination.

“I, uh, don’t know how much you remember about last night,” Niall starts.  Dread settles like a heavy stone in Liam’s stomach.  “You were, erm, talking about some, uh, text-pal of yours.”

“Oh hell,” Liam groans.  “I hope I didn’t say too much.”

“Well, funny thing about that,” Niall says and then hands Liam his phone.  Liam wipes his hands on his joggers before the takes the phone and looks at the screen.  His heart skips a beat when he sees the conversation between him and N.

“You’re N?” Liam asks even though the evidence of it is staring him right in the face.

“Surprise?”

It is a bit of a surprise to Liam, but only in that he hasn’t really expected to meet N and especially not so unplanned.  He’d hoped eventually N would bring up meeting, but he never planned to push it.

“You’ll be happy to know I’ve decided to make a move,” Niall says.

Liam perks up a bit.  “Yeah, good on ya, mate.”

“Yeah, decided to get up early even with a hangover and fix him breakfast.”

Liam pauses with the fork halfway to his mouth.  He stares at Niall not quite comprehending.  Niall has a small, sheepish smile on his face, but there’s a tint of hope ot it.  When it catches up to Liam exactly what Niall’s just said, he thinks back on everything they’ve talked about over the past couple of weeks.  Niall has been so smitten with the boy they’ve been talking about, he can’t even believe what Niall is implying.

“Me?”

Niall nods.  “I’m finally taking your advice.  S’okay if you’re not interested since, y’know…”

Since Niall isn’t interested in sex.  It’s something they’ve talked quite a bit about extensively.  It somehow seems wrong that he’s now privy to all of Niall’s fears and concerns when it turns out he’s been talking to his very crush the whole time.  And the whole time Liam has been telling him that anyone worth loving would love him no matter what.

“Have dinner with me?” Liam blurts, then flushes.  “I know that’s pretty lame, but--.”

“I’d love to, Liam,” Niall says quickly.

It won’t be quite that easy.  There’ll be things they need to discuss, boundaries to set, like just how much Niall is actually comfortable with and where the line needs to be drawn.  Liam may even miss doing things that Niall doesn’t want to, but he already fancies Niall and he’s willing to give it a shot.

 


End file.
